Coffee breaks are scheduled midmorning and midafternoon--breaks, proceedings and lunch are included in the price of registration.

7 CE credits are given for this seminar

Cancellation must be done 48 hours prior to the seminar for a refund - a fee of 10% is nonrefundable

Veterinary students will be given the opportunity to register for a $20 fee, if space is available, 5 days prior to the seminar. Students will be informed by broadcast e-mail.

NEW Webinar registration option: you have the option to attend the MVMA Spring Seminar on April 23rd which will begin at 9:00 am CST from anywhere you have an internet connection! Choose the "webinar" option when you register and you will be emailed the secure internet link to attend the live session on the day of the seminar. Only the purchaser will have access with this link as the attendees are monitored and sign in with their name. The webinar attendee registered is also the only one eligible for the 7 CE credits associated with the Spring seminar. The webinar will only be available during the live presentation, it will not be offered at a later time/date.

What will you experience: Once you have accessed the webinar your computer screen will be dominated with a direct-feed PowerPoint for clarity of viewing, plus the audio of Dr. Buggington as the slides automatically advance on your screen. A small video window on the side of your screen will show Dr. Buffington presenting. The live Q&A session will be simulcast also and you will be able to send questions from your screen options if you wish.

The MVMA Spring Seminar

is generously sponsored by VHA

BIO:

Dr. Buffington serves as Professor of Veterinary Clinical Sciences at The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine. His clinical interests include stress effects on disease, obesity, evidence-based medicine, and effective medical communications. He teaches clinical nutrition, research methods, and communications skills. Dr. Buffington's research focuses on the roles of development, early life events, and the environment on the pathogenesis of medically unexplained syndromes affecting cats and people.

Titles and Schedule of Day

8:00 - 9:00 am Continental Breakfast

9:00 -10:00 am Nutrition Assessment Guidelines. Both AAHA and WSAVA recently have published nutrition assessment guidelines for small animal veterinary practices, as well as a variety of "nutrition tools" for use by clinicians and technicians. This presentation will review the guidelines and tools that are available, and discuss which, if any, of them might practically be implemented in your practice.

10:00-10:15 am Break

10:15 - 11:15 am Pet foods - What's up with all the different diets? There has been a torrent of new diets released in recent years, with all the attendant marketing hype. I will focus this presentation on separating the "wheat from the chaff" about "human grade", "real chicken", "grain free" "organic" "ancestral" and other diets, and offer some suggestions for talking to clients who have diet-related questions.

11:15 - 12:15 pm Enrichment Enrichment for cats in cages. Recent evidence suggests that one way to increase the number of cats we see in practice is to improve their experience while in our care. I will share information we have learned from recent innovations in transporting and caring for cats in our colony and in shelters that are directly applicable to the day-to-day care of cats in your hospital.

12:15- 1:15 pm Lunch

1:15 - 2:15 pm From FUS to Pandora Syndrome - Introduction, pathophysiology, and diagnosis. Cats with chronic lower urinary tract signs have long been thought to have some kind of bladder disease. Over the past 25 years, research has suggested that some, possibly many, of these cats actually have a disease of the central nervous system that affects the bladder - and other organs as well - a real "Pandora's box" of problems. This talk will focus on what could be going on in these cats, and how to figure out what problem(s) they have.

2:15 - 3:15 pm Treating the owner and the cat. For a variety of reasons, cat owners usually assume that their cat has an acute problem, and expect a pharmaceutical "cure". After stabilizing the cat, the next step in treatment is to help owners understand what is going on, and what they can do about it. There also have been a number of medical treatments for cats recommended that will be (briefly) discussed.

3:15 - 3:30 pm Break

3:30 - 4:30 pm Treating the environment (including the owner), follow-up, and prognosis. We have found multimodal environmental modification (MEMO) to be effective treatment for cats with Pandora Syndrome. I will describe what this is, how to do it, how to monitor therapy of cats to assure the best possible outcome for the cat and their owner, and how implementation effectiveness influences prognosis for these cats.

Please call the MVMA to register, (651) 651-645-7533,
or register onsite at the CECC from 8:00 - 9:00 am Wednesday.